Does not measure victimless crimes, murder, crimes against commercial establishments, inaccurate reporting, and victimization of the homeless is not reported

What program asks offenders themselves to report about their criminal behaviors?

self-report surveys

What are the strengths of self-report surveys?

reliability

validity

What are the weaknesses of self-report surveys?

normally focus on schools so trends in data remain the same

What program is compiled by the FBI, is national, and compiles criminal acts reported to local police?

Uniform Crime Report

What are the strengths of the UCR?

shows trends in patterns of crime over time

provides crime data at different levels

What are the weaknesses of the UCR?

crime rates can be misleading

measure police activity rather than crime

What view believes that the criminal law is a set of rules, codified by state authorities, that expresses the norms, goals, and values of the vast majority of society?

Consensus View

What view believes that the the law is the instrument that enables the wealthy to maintain their position of power and control the behavior of those who oppose their ideas and values or who might rebel against the unequal distribution of wealth>

Conflict view

What view believes that criminal law is structured to reflect the preferences and opinions of people who hold social power in a particular legal jurisdiction?

Interactionist view

Give an example of someone or something that implements the interactionist view.

M.A.D.D

What regional areas normally increase in crime rates?

urban areas

low population cities with transient populations

south and west regions

What states that if a crime is a matter of choice, it follows that it can be controlled by convincing people that breaking the law is a bad or dangerous choice to make and is designed to make potential criminals fear the consequences of crime?

general deterrence

Give an example of general deterrence.

a sign that says "shoplifting is a crime"

What type of deterrence punishes known criminals severely so that they will never be tempted to repeat their offenses?

Specific Deterrence

What are the problems associated with specific deterrence strategies?

criminals don't fear punishment

the certainty of arrest and punishment is low

What are some techniques that involve specific deterrence?

death penalty

mandatory sentencing

aggressive policing

What is situational crime prevention?

crime prevention strategies that are aimed at reducing the criminal opportunities which arise from the routines of everyday life

What are the principles of situational crime prevention?

increase the effort need to commit the crime (target hardening)

increase the risks of being apprehended after committing crime (better lighting)

reduce the rewards for committing the crime (personalizing property so that it cant be resold after being stolen)

induce shame or guilt (M.A.D.D)

reduce provocation (early closing time at bars)

remove excuses (brightly colored trash cans)

Describe the general theory of crime

people choose to commit crime after weighing potential benefits and consequences of their criminal act, people will commit a c rime if they believe it will provide immediate benefits without the threat of long term risks

What type of law is a body of specific rules that define what conduct is criminal and prescribes the punishment to be imposed for such conduct?

substantive criminal law

What type of law sets out the basic rules of practice in the criminal justice system?

procedural criminal law

What early codes were used in the establishment of the modern system of law?

the babylonian code of hammurabi

the mosaic code of the israelites

the roman 12 tables

Our legal code is directly tied to what?

England

What term defines an illegal act, or failure to act when legally required; accused engaged in a guilty act?

actus reus

What term defines a guilty mind; the intent to commit a criminal act; accused had intent to commit the act?

mens rea

What term defines crimes that are inherently evil and depraved (such as murder or rape)?